The Metaverse Boom: Trading Trends and Opportunities — Fact vs Fiction

The Myth: "The Metaverse Is Dead—It Was Just a Pandemic Bubble."

Ever since Meta (formerly Facebook) rebranded in 2021 and poured billions into building a virtual future, the term metaverse exploded into the mainstream. Investors rushed in, companies followed suit, and metaverse-linked tokens like Decentraland (MANA) and The Sandbox (SAND) saw meteoric rises. But after the 2022 tech crash and Meta's stock plummet, the narrative quickly flipped:

"The metaverse was just a fad. The bubble burst. It’s over."

It’s a seductive belief. After all, headlines from The Verge and Forbes declared the metaverse “unrealistic,” and search trends for the term dropped by over 80% by 2024.

But is the metaverse truly dead—or is this another case of tech-hype fatigue followed by long-term growth, just like we saw with the internet or AI?

Let’s investigate.

Step 1: Where Did the Myth Begin?

The myth gained traction in late 2022, after Meta’s Reality Labs reported over $13 billion in losses and major tech firms like Microsoft and Disney quietly pulled out of their own virtual world projects. Simultaneously, many NFT-based metaverse platforms experienced token collapses, and daily user numbers plummeted—Decentraland, for example, saw active user counts drop to under 1,000 at one point, despite a $1 billion+ market cap.

These facts fueled the perception that the metaverse had failed.

But zooming in reveals something deeper.

Step 2: What Does the Research Say?

Contrary to the death narrative, institutional research suggests the metaverse economy is evolving—not evaporating.

• A 2024 report by McKinsey & Co. estimates the metaverse could generate up to $5 trillion in value by 2030, driven by e-commerce, education, virtual real estate, and enterprise use.

• CitiBank’s "Metaverse and Money" report forecasts a total addressable market of $8–13 trillion by 2030, with over 5 billion potential users.

Why the disconnect?

Because most people equated the “metaverse” with clunky avatars in virtual malls—and ignored its industrial and financial transformation.

Step 3: Who Is Still Investing in It?

The investment landscape has shifted from consumer hype to enterprise integration.

• NVIDIA and Siemens are building “industrial metaverses” where manufacturers simulate factory operations digitally to test efficiencies—something that already saves millions annually.

• Accenture uses its virtual platform “Nth Floor” to onboard thousands of new employees globally, showing that corporate metaverse use cases are alive and growing.

• Apple’s Vision Pro launch in 2025 has reignited interest in spatial computing, bridging AR/VR into the metaverse narrative—especially after garnering $1.2 billion in early hardware revenue.

Key shift: From “games and gimmicks” to “tools and training.”

Step 4: What About the Trading Opportunities?

Even metaverse-related tokens, once thought defunct, are showing signs of life:

• MANA is up over 110% year-over-year (as of Q1 2025).

• Roblox (RBLX) and Unity (U) stocks have rebounded, outperforming some AI-related peers.

• ETFs like Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF (META) are showing renewed volume after two stagnant years.

Meanwhile, real estate in virtual worlds (like Otherside, built by Yuga Labs) is gaining traction again, with institutional investors like Animoca Brands purchasing virtual land as speculative infrastructure.

Step 5: What Are Experts Saying?

Dr. Cathy Hackl, known as the “Godmother of the Metaverse,” argues in her 2024 book Into the Metaverse Economy:

“The metaverse is not a product. It’s a convergence of technologies—AI, blockchain, 5G, and XR—that will reshape how we work, play, and trade.”

MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative echoes this, noting that decentralized identity, ownership (via NFTs), and immersive commerce are slowly being woven into existing internet platforms, even if users don’t label it “the metaverse.”

Final Verdict:

✅ False. The myth that the metaverse is “dead” is inaccurate. What did die was the inflated hype cycle of the early 2020s. What remains is a slower, more sustainable evolution into enterprise tech, immersive commerce, and industrial simulation.

Retail trading in this space still carries risk, but dismissing it outright ignores the technological foundation quietly being laid for the next wave of digital interaction—and economic opportunity.

Did this surprise you?

Or is there another tech myth you'd like us to investigate next?